'Dune' Wins Top Award From American Society of Cinematographers

Steve Pond 2

"Dune" has been named the best-shot film of 2021 by the American Society of Cinematographers, which held its annual awards show on Sunday evening in Los Angeles.

© Provided by TheWrap

Cinematographer Greig Fraser won the award over a field that included fellow Oscar nominees "The Power of the Dog," "The Tragedy of Macbeth" and "Nightmare Alley," as well as "Belfast."

In the first 35 years of its existence, the ASC winner has gone on to take the Oscar for Best Cinematography less than half the time, although that percentage has improved recently. "Dune" is considered one of the front runners for this year's cinematography Oscar, with Fraser seemingly in a close with Ari Wegner for "The Power of the Dog," who could be the first woman ever to win.

Other feature-film awards went to Jessica Beshir for "Faya Dayi" in the documentary category and Pat Scola for "Pig" in the spotlight category, which is designed for films with limited or film-festival distribution.

The ASC also gave out awards in four television categories. James Laxton won in the Motion Picture, Limited Series or Pilot Made for Television category for "The Underground Railroad," Tommy Maddox-Upshaw won for "Snowfall" and Jon Joffins won for "Titans" in the commercial and non-commercial one-hour series categories, respectively, and Michael Berlucci and Marc Carter won for "Mythic Quest" in the half-hour series category.

Honorary award recipients included Ellen Kuras, the first female cinematographer to be given the ASC's Lifetime Achievement Award, who received her honor from Rachel Morrison, who was herself the first woman ever nominated for the ASC film award and the cinematography Oscar. Other recipients were Peter Levy, who received the Career Achievement in Television Award; John Lindley, who received the President's Award; and Dan Sasaki, who received the Curtis Clark Technical Achievement Award.

The ceremony was hosted by Debbie Allen from the ASC Clubhouse in Hollywood, but was also streamed live.

Here is the list of ASC Award nominees. Winners are indicated by **WINNER.

Feature Film

Bruno Delbonnel, ASC, AFC for "The Tragedy of Macbeth"

** WINNER Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS for "Dune"

Dan Laustsen, ASC, DFF for "Nightmare Alley"

Ari Wegner, ACS for "The Power of the Dog"

Haris Zambarloukos, BSC, GSC for "Belfast"

Spotlight

Ruben Impens, SBC for "Titane"

** WINNER Pat Scola for "Pig"

Adolpho Veloso, ABC for "Jockey"



Gallery: Critics' Choice 2022: Hosts, Special Awards and More to Know (US Weekly)


Documentary

** WINNER Jessica Beshir for "Faya Dayi"

Isabel Bethencourt and Parker Hill for "Cusp"

Daniel Schönauer for "The Hidden Life of Trees"

Motion Picture, Limited Series, or Pilot Made for Television

Steve Annis for "Foundation" - Pilot Episode: "The Emperor's Peace"

Tim Ives, ASC for "Halston" - Episode: "The Party's Over"

** WINNER James Laxton, ASC for "The Underground Railroad" - Episode: "Chapter 9: Indiana Winter"

Christophe Nuyens, SBC for "Lupin" - Pilot Episode: "Chapter 1"

Ben Richardson, ASC for "Mare of Easttown" - Episode: "Illusions"

Episode of a One-Hour Television Series - Non-Commercial

Stuart Biddlecombe for "The Handmaid's Tale" - Episode: "The Wilderness"

David Garbett for "Sweet Tooth" - Episode: Big Man

David Greene, ASC, CSC for "Chapelwaite" - Episode: "The Promised"

** WINNER Jon Joffin, ASC for "Titans" - Episode: "Souls"

Boris Mojsovski, ASC, CSC for "Titans" - Episode:"Home"

Kate Reid, BSC for "The Nevers" - Episode: "Hanged"

Episode of a One-Hour Television Series - Commercial

Thomas Burstyn, CSC, NZSC for "Snowpiercer" - Episode: "Our Answer for Everything"

** WINNER Tommy Maddox-Upshaw, ASC for "Snowfall" - Episode: "Weight"

Ronald Paul Richard for "Riverdale" - Episode: "Chapter Eighty-Nine: Reservoir Dogs"

Brendan Steacy, CSC for "Clarice" - Episode: "Silence is Purgatory"

David Stockton, ASC for "Mayans M.C." - Episode: "The Orneriness of Kings"

Gavin Struthers, ASC, BSC for "Superman & Lois" - Episode: "Heritage"

Episode of a Half-Hour Television Series

Marshall Adams, ASC for "Servant" - Episode: "2:00"

** WINNER Michael Berlucchi and Marc Carter for "Mythic Quest" - Episode: "Backstory!"

Adam Bricker for "Hacks" - Episode: "There is No Line"

Paula Huidobro for "Physical" - Episode: "Let's Get Together"

Jaime Reynoso, AMC for "The Kominsky Method" - Episode: "And it's Getting More and More Absurd"

Lifetime Achievement Award: Ellen Kuras, ASC

Career Achievement in Television Award: Peter Levy, ASC, ACS

President's Award: John Lindley, ASC

Curtis Clark Technical Achievement Award: Dan Sasaki

YOU DON'T KNOW JACK

Adrien Brody Says Jack Nicholson Asked Him To Boycott The 2003 Oscars Over The U.S. Invasion Of Iraq

Sarah Curran

Adrien Brody is looking back on the 2003 Academy Awards.

© Photo: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images Adrien Brody

In a new interview with the Sunday Times, the actor recalled how his fellow Best Actor nominee Jack Nicholson asked him to boycott the ceremony in order to take a stand against the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Brody said that Nicolson invited all that year's Best Acting nominees to attend a get-together at his home, including Nicolas Cage, Michael Caine and Daniel Day-Lewis.

"I said, ‘I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going,’” he rememebered. “I said, ‘I kind of have to show up. My parents are coming. This doesn’t come around too often. I know you guys are all winners. You can sit it out. But I can’t.’”

Brody went on to become the youngest person ever to win the Best Actor award, thanks to his performance in "The Pianist".

However, the then 29-year-old was sure to mention the situation in Iraq in his acceptance speech.

"I'm filled with a lot of sadness tonight because I'm accepting an award at such a strange time," he said. "My experience of making this film made me very aware of the sadness and the dehumanization of people at the times of war, and the repercussions of war."

WAIT, WHAT?

‘West Side Story’ Star Rachel Zegler Says She’s ‘Not Invited’ To The Oscars

Sarah Curran 

© Dominik Bindl/Getty Images Rachel Zegler.

Rachel Zegler has apparently been left off the guest list for this year's Oscars.

The "West Side Story" star made the revelation while responding to a comment beneath her latest Instagram post.

"Can't wait to see what you'll be wearing on Oscar night," wrote one fan beneath a slideshow of photos from the first quarter of Zegler's whirlwind year.

"i'm not invited so sweatpants and my boyfriend's flannel," said Zegler in response. "i hope some last minute miracle occurs and i can celebrate our film in person but hey, that's how it goes sometimes, i guess."

"West Side Story" will be up for a number of awards at next Sunday's ceremony, including Best Director and Best Picture

Zegler previously represented the movie at the Critics Choice Awards and the BAFTAs.

Pro-COVID mandate rallies held in Saskatchewan
Taz Dhaliwal

© Global News Saskatoon Residents in both Regina and Saskatoon gathered for pro-public health COVID mandate rallies Saturday afternoon.

Concerned citizens across Saskatchewan with a group called Take Action Against COVID or TAAC are advocating for pro-public health COVID-19 mandates to be reinstated, as the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing.

On Saturday afternoon, TAAC members voiced their frustrations in regards to what they're calling inaction from the Saskatchewan government when it comes to continuing to protect residents — especially the most vulnerable, who may be immuno-compromised — with COVID health measures.

“At the beginning, remember when everybody was applauding health-care workers? Well now it's shut up and go to work, and that's acceptable,” said Judy Henley, CUPE Local 5430, Saskatchewan division president at the Regina rally in front of the legislative building.

Henley who represents public industry workers ranging from education to healthcare and municipalities, said not having any COVID restrictions in place will only further harm the state of public healthcare in the province.

Read more:
COVID-19: 100-plus people gather for pro-mandate protest in Saskatoon

"We have a staffing crisis in healthcare that is absolutely crazy. People are working day in and day out to take care of those in long-term care, in acute and everywhere,” Henley said.

Organizers say there were many supporters who were unable to attend the rallies due to their precarious health situation or that of a close family member's.

“The premier has tried to tell us ... it's time to learn to live with the virus. Or for individuals or families to manage their own risk. But all of the tools we could have used to do that are being yanked away from us,” said Robb Butz, TAAC organizer, who was at the rally in Saskatoon.

Read more:
Majority of Canadians support more COVID-19 restrictions for unvaccinated: poll

TAAC members and supporters are asking for COVID numbers to be reported daily, access to testing for the public at large and indoor masking mandates to be implemented once again, along with mandatory sick days.

"Basically it's kind of like survival of the fittest that everybody has to sort out, manage their risk as if we were all able to enter that in the same conditions, as if they're weren't already inequities in place,” said Manuela Vallecastro, a TAAC member also at the protest in Saskatoon.

Things got heated at the rally in Saskatoon when so called "freedom convoy" protestors showed up. There was some pushing between the two groups at one point and police were called.

Shortly after both crowds dispersed.

'What is being hidden?' Curators say Vatican must give access to Indigenous artifacts

Gerald McMaster has always wondered what mysteries and cultural objects are kept within the Vatican’s collection of Indigenous artifacts.

The renowned First Nations curator and artist says the artifacts are important to how Indigenous people see themselves and the world around them. Yet, he says, not many have ever laid their eyes on what's in the vaults.

“What is being hidden? Why is it being hidden?” McMaster pondered in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.

“Why (do) Indigenous people remain shut out whereas the vault will be open to other curators that are non-Indigenous, other European curators."

Indigenous delegates are to meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican the last week in March. The visit is to include a tour of the Anima Mundi Ethnological Museum, which contains an unknown number of Indigenous artifacts.

The Catholic Church has said the delegation’s purpose is to discuss reconciliation and healing, but Indigenous artists and curators say that cannot be achieved if important Indigenous objects remainunseen.

McMaster, who is from the Siksika Nation in Alberta, has been unsuccessful in attempts to see the full collection, despite being a top expert in the field.

He is a 2022 winner of the Governor General's Awards in visual and media arts, a research chair in Indigenous curatorial practice and director of the Centre for Indigenous Visual Knowledge at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto.

McMaster has more than 40 years experience in art, museology and Indigenous esthetics.

“I tried and tried and tried,” McMaster says about his efforts to get access to the Vatican’s collection for his own work with a prestigious international exhibition in 2018.

"I came away from the Vatican completely disappointed. I was unable to ... just connect with anybody, even using Italians who knew people."

The museum was renamed Anima Mundi, meaning "soul of the world," in 2019. At the time, the Pope committed to putting many more objects on display, including those of Indigenous people.

The museum’s website says the artifacts are exhibited on rotation, because they are old and fragile and have extra requirements for their display.

McMaster says keeping the pieces away from the people who created them is a denial of their history. He says Indigenous collections around the world are culturally sensitive and must be treated as such.

Many objects were taken after the Canadian government, through the Indian Act in 1876, outlawed cultural practices, including wearing traditional clothing, he says. Ceremonial items and other important objects were seized, then sold, given to museums or destroyed.

Much of the Vatican's current collection is from a former pope, Pius XI, who decided to hold a world exposition in 1925. A message went out to missionaries around the globe to send items. More than 100,000 objects and works of art ended up on display.

The Vatican says parts of its collection were gifts to popes and the Catholic Church.

Even if items were given willingly, how they are treated and displayed must be done in consultation with Indigenous people, McMaster says.

The collection is known to contain masks, wampum belts, pipes and rugs, and other items from Indigenous communities in North America. Indigenous experts say they don’t have details of the items that have been identified or any idea of how many remain unknown.

"By taking those objects, they are removing our connection, our understanding of the intellectual capacity and intellectual traditions of our ancestors ... the indicators that we ... are connected to specific landscapes,” says Audrey Dreaver, an artist, curator and instructor at the First Nations University of Canada in Regina.

“It really impacts everything and how we feel about ourselves."

Dreaver, who is nehiyiwak (Plains Cree), says it’s much the same as taking cultural objects from and cutting the hair of Indigenous children as they entered residential schools.

It's an intellectual and psychological colonization, she says. The objects themselves are admired, but Indigenous people aren’t considered expert enough to view the artifacts or have them returned.

“They still have a tendency to talk about us like we aren't able to take care of our own cultures and histories.”

Dreaver says reconciliation will not be complete until the Vaticanis honest and open about its Indigenous collection.

Métis artist Christi Belcourt says the matter goes beyond returning art to Indigenous communities.

The Catholic Church is also one of the largest non-governmental landowners in the world, which Belcourt says has given the institution power and wealth.

“Both land and artifacts must be returned to their rightful Indigenous owners around the world.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2022.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

Alberta delegation prepares to travel to Vatican to meet Pope Francis

Chris Chacon 

It was an emotional Sunday mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton.

© Chris Chacon/Global News Image of Father Susai Jesu.

"We will pray for the success of our delegation and the well-being of all who are going," one parishioner said in a prayer.

The Edmonton church is a national parish for First Nations, Metis and Inuit people and its pastor, alongside Indigenous and non-Indigenous leaders from Alberta and others across Canada are about to travel to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis.

"April 1st, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. is the time general audience, particularity for the primary delegates and secondary delegates directly to meet Pope Francis, that's where I will be meeting him," Father Susai Jesu said.

The visit to Rome was supposed to happen last year following the discoveries of un-marked graves at former residentials schools in Canada.

Read more:
Alberta Indigenous representatives prepare to meet the Pope this month in the Vatican

But the trip was postponed due to the pandemic.

"It's very much needed. It comes to the point where it's almost like a boiling point," Elder Fernie Marty said.

But now it's back on, and Jesu will be representing Sacred Heart as part of the second delegation. And he has a special message for the pope.

"Please come to Canada and be with our people and come to Sacred Heart Church, a national parish, and if possible bless our church. Your presence and prayers will immensely heal millions and millions in Canada," Jesu said.

"For him, that would be the greatest thing to come to Canada and officially make that apology, I believe that would be a godsend, a blessing for all Canadians," Marty said.

An invite to further truth and reconciliation would help heal many people in Alberta, whether the Pope comes to Edmonton or not.

"Our people will always find a way to heal and more forward," Jesu said.

The Alberta delegation is expected to return April 4.

Calgary rally held to push for anti-racism action from all levels of government

Radana Williams

The Peace Bridge was fittingly the location of an anti-racism rally in Calgary Sunday, held to commemorate the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

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© Global News Indigenous drummers at an anti-racism rally in Calgary Mar. 20, 2022.

Hate crimes rose ‘sharply’ in 2020 despite police-reported crime drop, data shows

Local social justice groups, including the Association of Mexicans in Calgary, Action Dignity and Immigrant Outreach Society gathered to demand concrete actions from the three levels of government to fight systemic and institutional racism.

Organizer Vanesa Ortiz, chair of the Association of Mexicans in Calgary, said much work remains to be done to bring about sustainable and meaningful change at a policy level.

“At the municipal level, implementing the calls to action of the White Goose Flying report,” said Ortiz.

“At the provincial level, to stop scapegoating racialized migrants for the spread of Covid. First the Filipino community, then the southeast Asian community endured racist remarks by Premier Kenney. And on a federal level to keep working to give migrant workers, refugees, dignified working conditions.”

Ortiz added the group wants the city to implement a policy similar to Edmonton’s Access to Municipal Services Without Fear.

“That would ensure that undocumented migrants and people without status or with precarious immigrant status can access services in the city without fear of deportation.”

Read more:
‘Tip of the iceberg’: Why Canada’s online hate-crime data doesn’t tell the full story

Recent data shows Canada saw a 37 per cent increase in hate crimes during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistics Canada said 2,669 hate crimes were reported to police in 2020 -- the highest number since comparable data became available in 2009.

Statistics Canada said police-reported hate crimes targeting race or ethnicity rose 80 per cent in 2020 compared with 2019 and accounted for the bulk of the national increase.

Reported hate crimes targeting East or Southeast Asian people went up 301 per cent; those aimed at Black people went up 92 per cent; hate against Indigenous people was up 152 per cent; and those against South Asian people went up 47 per cent.

Video: Edmonton councillor explains city’s access without fear policy

Disney braces for further walkouts as employees express discontent with CEO Bob Chapek

Analysis by Brian Stelter, 

CNN Business 

RELIABLE SOURCES

 Disney CEO Bob Chapek during an address at the Boston College Chief Executives Club, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Disney versus Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is far from over. And Disney is the state's largest private-sector employer, so this is a battle between giants -- one that DeSantis clearly welcomes as he plots a run for president.

At issue: Florida's Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, that would ban classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity before fourth grade. Disney CEO Bob Chapek tiptoed around the bill at first, was pilloried by employees, and then publicly criticized the bill after it passed the state's legislature. Chapek apologized to LGBTQ employees, but his words did little to lower the temperature. Some employees staged brief walkouts last week, ahead of a "full day walkout" slated to take place on Tuesday.

How many will participate? No one knows. "It's unclear whether it will draw a crowd" among studios employees, CNBC's Julia Boorstin wrote, "as only a fraction of employees have been coming in to work on the lot."

But the earlier walkouts garnered a lot of attention, and "the act of protest will culminate" on Tuesday, as The AP's Mike Schneider put it. Three new stories have outstanding insight into this issue...

Chapek's decision backfired

The WSJ's Robbie Whelan, Erich Schwartzel and Joe Flint nailed it with this lead:

"Chapek made a decision at the start of the year: Disney was staying out of politics. The strategy was meant in part to help the entertainment giant avoid the culture clashes between executives and employees that have plagued many companies in recent years, said people familiar with his thinking. Instead, it backfired."

Chapek's mishandling of the Florida fight "managed to offend both progressives, who wanted the company to do and say more to fight the bill, and conservatives, who wanted Disney to stay out of the debate and now claim it is bowing to liberal agitators within its ranks."

>> Chapek's contract is up for renewal next February, so "several current and former Disney executives described the next 11 months as a critical period for the CEO," the WSJ team added...

Video: Disney CEO sparks controversy by trying to dodge politics (CNN)

The view from Florida

CNN's expert in all things Florida politics, Steve Contorno, is out with an excellent new story about how the Disney dispute has further bolstered DeSantis's standing within the GOP. It has also "exposed a widening chasm between the current crop of Republican leaders and the corporations that have traditionally curried favor with the GOP," Contorno wrote...

>> Christopher Miles, a Miami-based GOP consultant, told Contorno that watching a Florida governor go after Disney was "not a world I expected to be living in a couple of years ago." But DeSantis, like Donald Trump, has gained popularity by bucking conventional wisdom...

Chapek and Iger at odds

In media insider circles, the weekend's #1 read was Alex Sherman's story for CNBC about the falling out between Chapek and his predecessor Bob Iger. It's a rift that now "looms over Disney's future."

In the wake of the Florida debacle, several Disney employees have called Iger "to express their disappointment in Chapek," Sherman reported. But "while public controversies generate headlines, it's likely to be Chapek's internal changes, and how successful they become, that will determine his future as Disney's CEO."

One of the key changes is the elevation of Kareem Daniel, who has profit and loss oversight over Disney's media and entertainment businesses. Daniel has "one of the most powerful jobs ever created in media," Sherman wrote. Daniel has not given any interviews since his October 2020 promotion. Read all about the internal intrigue here...

Moments of silence on ESPN

We noted on Friday that ESPN announcers Carolyn Peck and Courtney Lyle showed solidarity with fellow employees by going silent for two minutes at the start of the NCAA women's tournament. During Sunday's tournament coverage, they did it again, remaining silent "for about two minutes as the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Miami Hurricanes tipped off," per Analis Bailey of USA Today.

"Announcers Stephanie White and Pam Ward also observed a moment of silence during Saturday's game in Connecticut," Bailey added. And Elle Duncan mentioned the walkouts on the air on Friday...

Shutdown begins at CP Rail as two sides continue to negotiate

CALGARY — The company and the union are pointing fingers of blame at each other for a shutdown of Canadian Pacific Railway operations that began Sunday while the two sides remained at the bargaining table.

THE BLAME IS ALL MANAGEMENT

AFTER ALL MANAGEMENT MAKES THE RULES

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents some 3,000 engineers, conductors, yard workers, and other train employees, issued a release just before midnight saying a lockout was being initiated by management at the Calgary-based railway.

But hours later the company put out a release stating that while the company was still engaged in contract talks facilitated by federal mediators, the TCRC "withdrew its services and issued a news release misrepresenting the status of the talks." It added that CP was working with its customers to wind down its operations across Canada.

The union then issued a subsequent release which said that in addition to the lockout, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference members were also on strike at CP throughout the country with picketing underway at various Canadian Pacific locations.

The office of federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan said in a statement that while the work stoppage had begun both parties were still at the bargaining table with mediators and it expected "the parties to keep working until they reach an agreement." The more than two dozen outstanding issues in the dispute include wages, benefits and pensions.

Last week, about 45 industry groups warned that any disruption of rail service would hinder Canada's freight capacity and hurt the broader economy as it grapples with inflation, product shortages, rising fuel costs and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

CP Rail had issued a 72-hour notice to the TCRC of its plan to implement a lockout on Sunday if the union and the company failed to reach a negotiated settlement or agree to binding arbitration.

The union said in its release that it wanted to continue bargaining but "unfortunately, the employer chose to put the Canadian supply chain and tens of thousands of jobs at risk."

TCRC spokesman Dave Fulton called the turn of events "disappointing" saying the railway must be "taken to task" for this decision.

He said the union was willing to explore an arbitrator's decision but was unable to reach an agreement with the employer.

"They set the deadline for a lockout to happen tonight when we were willing to pursue negotiations," he said. "Even more so, they then moved the goalpost when it came time to discuss the terms of final and binding arbitration.”

CP, for its part, blamed the union for the shutdown.

"This is clearly a failure of the TCRC Negotiating Committee's responsibility to negotiate in good faith," it said in its statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX: CP)

The Canadian Press

Hubble Spies a Stunning Spiral in Constellation Coma Berenices

By ESA/HUBBLE MARCH 20, 2022

Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 was used to capture this cosmic portrait that features a stunning view of the spiral galaxy NGC 4571, which lies approximately 60 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team

This cosmic portrait — captured with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 — shows a stunning view of the spiral galaxy NGC 4571, which lies approximately 60 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices. This constellation — whose name translates as Bernice’s Hair — was named after an Egyptian queen who lived more than 2200 years ago.

As majestic as spiral galaxies like NGC 4571 are, they are far from the largest structures known to astronomers. NGC 4571 is part of the Virgo cluster, which contains more than a thousand galaxies. This cluster is in turn part of the larger Virgo supercluster, which also encompasses the Local Group which contains our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Even larger than superclusters are galaxy filaments  — the largest known structures in the Universe.

This image comes from a large program of observations designed to produce a treasure trove of combined observations from two great observatories: Hubble and ALMA. ALMA, The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, is a vast telescope consisting of 66 high-precision antennas high in the Chilean Andes, which together observe at wavelengths between infrared and radio waves. This allows ALMA to detect the clouds of cool interstellar dust which give rise to new stars. Hubble’s razor-sharp observations at ultraviolet wavelengths, meanwhile, allows astronomers to pinpoint the location of hot, luminous, newly formed stars. Together, the ALMA and Hubble observations provide a vital repository of data to astronomers studying star formation, as well as laying the groundwork for future science with the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.

Astronomy & Astrophysics 101: Gravitational Lensing

TOPICS:AstronomyAstrophysicsEuropean Space AgencyGravitational Lensing

By ESA/HUBBLE MARCH 20, 2022

NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of GAL-CLUS-022058s, located in the southern hemisphere constellation of Fornax (The Furnace). Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Jha, Acknowledgement: L. Shatz

Gravitational lensing occurs when a massive celestial body — such as a galaxy cluster — causes a sufficient curvature of spacetime for the path of light around it to be visibly bent, as if by a lens. The body causing the light to curve is accordingly called a gravitational lens.

According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, time and space are fused together in a quantity known as spacetime. Within this theory, massive objects cause spacetime to curve, and gravity is simply the curvature of spacetime. As light travels through spacetime, the theory predicts that the path taken by the light will also be curved by an object’s mass. Gravitational lensing is a dramatic and observable example of Einstein’s theory in action. Extremely massive celestial bodies such as galaxy clusters cause spacetime to be significantly curved. In other words, they act as gravitational lenses. When light from a more distant light source passes by a gravitational lens, the path of the light is curved, and a distorted image of the distant object — maybe a ring or halo of light around the gravitational lens — can be observed.

Gravitational lensing occurs when a massive celestial body — such as a galaxy cluster — causes a sufficient curvature of spacetime for the path of light around it to be visibly bent, as if by a lens. The body causing the light to curve is accordingly called a gravitational lens. Credit: ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen)

An important consequence of this lensing distortion is magnification, allowing us to observe objects that would otherwise be too far away and too faint to be seen. Hubble makes use of this magnification effect to study objects that would otherwise be beyond the sensitivity of its 2.4-meter-diameter primary mirror, showing us thereby the most distant galaxies humanity has ever encountered.

This Space Sparks Episode explores the concept of gravitational lensing. This effect is only visible in rare cases and only the best telescopes — including the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope — can observe the results of gravitational lensing. The strong gravity of a massive object, such as a cluster of galaxies, warps the surrounding space, and light from distant objects traveling through that warped space is curved away from its straight-line path. This video highlights how Hubble’s sensitivity and high resolution allow it to see details in these faint, distorted images of distant galaxies.

Hubble’s sensitivity and high resolution allow it to see faint and distant gravitational lenses that cannot be detected with ground-based telescopes whose images are blurred by the Earth’s atmosphere. The gravitational lensing results in multiple images of the original galaxy each with a characteristically distorted arc-like shape or even into rings. Hubble was the first telescope to resolve details within these multiple arc-shaped features. Its sharp vision can reveal the shape and internal structure of the lensed background galaxies directly.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Jha, Acknowledgement: L. Shatz

An image released in 2020 as part of the ESA/Hubble Picture of the Week series of the object known as GAL-CLUS-022058s revealed the largest ring-shaped lensed image of a galaxy (known as an Einstein ring) ever discovered, also one of the most complete. The near exact alignment of the background galaxy with the central elliptical galaxy of the cluster warped and magnified the image of the background galaxy into an almost perfect ring.

Learn more about Hubble’s observations of gravitational lensing here.

International Year of Glass gets cracking in Geneva – Physics World

The International Year of Glass(IYOG2022) kicked off with a two-day opening ceremony at the Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. IYOG2022 will celebrate this versatile material that underpins many technologies that have transformed the modern world. Events throughout the year will also highlight why glass is critical in achieving the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

“Welcome to transparency, welcome to sustainability, welcome to the age of glass,” said IYOG2022 chair Alicia Durán, in her opening remarks. Durán, a physicist at the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid, played a key role in building support for the project while serving as president of the International Commission on Glass(ICG) between 2018 and 2021.

During the past three years, Spain’s permanent mission at the UN headquarters in New York led the process for obtaining an official resolution, with expressed support from 18 other nations. The global glass industry and cultural institutions also backed IYOG22, which now has 2100 endorsements from 90 countries across five continents.

One of the aims for IYOG2022 is to highlight the role of glass in advancing civilization. Ambassadors from Turkey and Egypt spoke at the opening ceremony as both nations have rich histories in the origins of modern glassmaking. “Let us cherish the significance of this brilliant and versatile material in humanity’s past, present and future,” said Sadik Arslan, head of Turkey’s permanent mission at the UN in Geneva.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt’s the Valley of the Kings. To mark the occasion, Egypt will inaugurate its new Grand Egyptian Museum just outside Cairo, which showcases ornamental glass from Ancient Egypt. To coincide, Egypt will host an IYOG2022 event “From Pharaohs to High Tech Glass” on 18–20 April.

All of this year’s major glass fairs will have a focus on IYOG2022. China, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of glass, will host China Glass 2022in Shanghai alongside a number of satellite events on 11–15 April. This year is also the centenary of the German Glass Technology Society(DGG), which will be celebrated on 2–8 July in Berlin at the ICG’s international congress.

Elsewhere, the US will host a National Day of Glass Eventon 3–5 April in Washington, DC while Mexico will host GLASSMANin Monterrey on 11–12 May and Russia has MIR STEKLAin Moscow on 6–9 June. IYOG2022’s closing ceremony will take place in Japan on 8–9 December.

Events will highlight how glass-based technologies can contribute to the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals. In renewable energy, glass is used for concentrated solar power, photovoltaics and the fibreglass of wind turbines. Glasswool is used for insulating houses, while new window technologies can make buildings efficient and light. Glass is non-toxic and infinitely recyclable, so it is also a key material for circular economies.

Optical fibres are the digital highways for the Internet and touch-sensitive glass screens have revolutionized how we communicate. In healthcare, non-reactive glass containers that can withstand ultracold temperatures have been essential for transporting COVID-19 vaccines. Bioglass has been used for half a century to assist bone healing, and recent advances have seen glass nanostrutures used for drug delivery and wound healing.

IYOG2022 organizers hope to inspire students through cultural events and initiatives, while addressing gender balance in science and the needs of developing countries. The Museum of Glass Art in Alcorcón, Madrid, is hosting an event in June called Women in Glass, Art and Science, which will highlight contributions of women from Ibero-America.

To close the opening ceremony in Geneva on Friday afternoon, the Japanese artist Kimiake Higuchispoke about her creations using pâte de verre. In this technique finely crushed glass is mixed with binding material and colouring agents to create a paste that is moulded and fired.

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Source URL: http://physicsworld.com/a/international-year-of-glass-gets-cracking-in-geneva/